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AI Dialer

Glossary · Dialing

What is Call pacing?

  • Also called: dialer pacing, pacing ratio, dial ratio

Reviewed by Sujan ThapaliyaLast updated

Definition

Call pacing is the rate at which a dialler launches outbound calls relative to available agents. Pace too slowly and agents sit idle; pace too fast and live answers arrive with nobody to take them, producing abandoned calls and regulatory exposure.
The three STIR/SHAKEN attestation levels, which underpin how call pacing behaves in practice: A asserts both that the carrier knows the customer and that the customer may use the calling number, B asserts the customer only, and C asserts neither. A shared number pool can reach B at best, which is why number ownership keeps recurring in these definitions.
Attestation is the backdrop to most caller-ID and deliverability terms, call pacing included.

In practice

How call pacing actually works

A predictive dialler recalculates its pace continuously from live answer rate, average talk time, and wrap-up time. A power dialler does not pace at all: it dials one call per agent, which is why it cannot abandon calls.

Pacing is usually expressed as a ratio: 2.5 means two and a half calls launched per available agent. The right ratio is a property of the list, not a setting you can copy from another campaign.

The binding constraint is legal, not technical. Because abandoned calls are capped at 3% of live answers in the US, a well-built pacing engine treats that ceiling as a hard limit and throttles itself as it approaches it.

Pacing is bounded by the abandonment ceiling, not by how busy you would like agents to be.
Answer rateSensible pace per free agentWhy
Under 5%2.5–3.0Most calls go unanswered, so the bet usually pays
5–15%2.0–2.5The common band for cold B2B
15–25%1.5–2.0Double answers start to appear
Over 25%1.0 — stop pacingEvery extra line is a dropped conversation

Worked example

List answer rate 20%, average talk 3 minutes, wrap 30 seconds, 10 agents. A pace around 2.0–2.5 keeps agents busy; push past 3.0 and abandonment climbs through the safe harbour.

Call pacing: common questions

What is a good pacing ratio?
There is no portable number, because the right ratio is a property of the list rather than the campaign. It falls out of your live answer rate, average talk time and wrap time. Between 2.0 and 2.5 calls per available agent is a common starting point on a list answering around 20%.
Does a power dialer use pacing?
No, and that is the point of it. A power dialer places exactly one call per agent, so there is no ratio to tune and no possibility of a live answer arriving with nobody to take it. Pacing only exists where the system dials more lines than it has agents.
What limits how fast a dialer can pace?
The legal ceiling, not the technical one. Because abandoned calls are capped at 3% of live answers, a correctly built pacing engine throttles itself as it approaches that limit rather than optimising purely for agent utilisation.

Sources

  1. Combating Spoofed Robocalls with Caller ID Authentication — Federal Communications CommissionThe STIR/SHAKEN framework, the attestation levels carriers sign calls with, and the mandate requiring providers to authenticate caller ID.
  2. 47 U.S.C. § 227 — Restrictions on the use of telephone equipment — Cornell Legal Information InstituteThe Telephone Consumer Protection Act itself — the consent requirements, calling-hours limits, and private right of action.
  3. ITU-T Recommendation E.164 — The international public telecommunication numbering plan — International Telecommunication UnionThe international number format, the 15-digit maximum, and how country codes and national numbers compose.

See call pacing in the product

A predictive dialer calls ahead of your agents, using live answer rates and call durations to forecast when an agent will next be free. It keeps agents talking for most of the hour instead of waiting, and it is the highest-throughput dialling mode available to a contact centre.

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